Verified country of origin bars continued retention of provisional bank guarantees and requires completion of customs assessment.

Where the country of origin of imported goods is conclusively verified, customs authorities cannot continue to retain bank guarantees furnished for provisional clearance. The importer had produced certificates of origin at import, and the foreign competent authority later confirmed the goods originated in Indonesia. Once that confirmation removed any dispute on origin, retention of the guarantees was no longer justified, and the provisional assessments under the Bills of Entry had to be completed. The operative effect is that verified origin under the preferential trade framework requires release of provisional security and finalisation of assessment.

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Issues: Whether, after confirmation of the foreign origin of the imported goods, the importer was entitled to release of the bank guarantees furnished for provisional clearance and to completion of the provisional assessments.

Analysis: The imported goods were claimed to be eligible for concessional customs duty under the relevant notification and the preferential trade agreement rules. The importer had produced certificates of origin at the time of import, and the foreign competent authority later confirmed that the goods had originated in Indonesia. Once that verification removed any dispute regarding origin, the continued retention of the bank guarantees ceased to be justified. The Court also accepted that the provisional assessments arising from the Bills of Entry had to be brought to a close in light of the confirmed origin.

Conclusion: The importer was entitled to release of the bank guarantees and to completion of the provisional assessments.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the country of origin of imported goods stands conclusively verified, the customs authorities cannot continue to retain bank guarantees obtained for provisional assessment, and the assessment must be completed accordingly.

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